This thread is for those who may be considering the installation of a quality sound system in an Art Deco ’41-’46 Pickup. Since the dash in these cabs did not have any place for a radio (a dealer option radio could have been mounted under the dash), I felt it would be best to hide the system to keep the cab as original as possible. Only the speakers in the kick panels are visible.
My ’45 Chevy was already nicely restored when I purchased it. It had a power antenna mounted on the passenger side of the cowl, but for some odd reason there was nothing else radio related in the cab. Following are the steps performed with supporting pictures attached:
1) I replaced the cardboard kick panels with ¼” hardboard. This provided a solid surface to hold the speakers and when sprayed with clear coat, the color nearly matched the cardboard. Kenwood Excelon KFC-X174 flush mount 6-1/2-inch 2-way speakers were mounted in the hardboard kick panels (see picture). This is the maximum diameter and mounting depth that will fit and only because the hardboard is flat across the space rather than curved inward as was the cardboard. 2) A Rockville RW8CA low profile 8-inch powered subwoofer was placed behind the seat. The space available behind the seat was correct for this subwoofer. The packing material came in handy to cushion and hold it securely in place when sandwiched between the seat back and cab wall (see picture). 3) A Kenwood Excelon DPX794BH receiver was placed inside the glovebox. The key here is that this receiver is a “double DIN’ size which both fits nicely in the glovebox as well as providing a good size display. The 2 features I wanted were a FM-HD receiver and USB inputs for MP3 files, both of which this unit has. It also has most of the other modern features you would expect such as Bluetooth, Alexa, etc. that I really don’t care about. I did not “mount” the receiver, it simply sits in the glovebox (see picture). A USB cable plugs into the rear and the thumb drive lays in the glovebox beside the receiver. A remote level control for the subwoofer also lays in the glovebox beside the receiver.
Power leads for the receiver and the subwoofer were connected directly to the 12V supply and in line fuses were added so the system can be used independent of the ignition key.
This system sounds great in the pickup. Cost for the system was approximately $500.00. If an old retired guy like me can install this than I am sure any of you folks could also. The trick is simply selecting components that both fit in the space available and also have the features you want. Please feel free to contact me if there are any questions.
